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My grandson, who’s 5, started to cry the other day because he wants to go back to what he called “real school,” after weeks of online kindergarten.

His frustration is shared by millions of people all over the country who are really, really sick of these stay-at-home orders and limitations on our daily lives. But that’s better than being really, really sick with COVID-19.

Not to compare the protesters at state capitols in several states to disappointed children, but that’s the choice we face in this unprecedented crisis. It’s as if many people take New Hampshire’s state slogan, “Live free or die,” as reasonable alternatives.

Being in that over-65 demographic most at risk of having someone pass the virus to me, it’s an easy and obvious choice for me. Stay home, like I do. Your job and your freedom to assemble — whether in a big church or at a protest rally — aren’t worth your life, aren’t worth infecting others.

But I’ll admit I’m lucky. I don’t depend on a regular paycheck and I’ve been writing these columns from home for about eight years now. I’m bored and tired of daytime TV, but it’s not an infringement of my constitutional rights for government to enforce public-health safeguards.

If this pandemic had happened 30 years ago, in my paycheck-to-paycheck days, I’d probably hope the president and governors would emphasize restoration of economic activities.

Only trouble is, if they’re wrong, the consequences are too horrible to imagine. Lock down too long, and we’ve got an economic disaster not seen since the Great Depression. Open up too soon, and we’ll see a spike in infections and deaths.

There wouldn’t have been much left in the school year, if they’d reopened — certainly not enough to justify the health risks. Besides, this is a good opportunity for students and teachers to improve on “distance learning,” the tele-teaching technique forced upon our schools now.

County school superintendents were urging DeSantis not to resume regular classroom operations.

The Miami Herald, joined by some other news organizations, was ready to file a lawsuit to force such disclosure before DeSantis gave in. His office did not exactly distinguish itself by contacting the Herald’s law firm and trying to talk the paper out of suing — nor did it bolster public confidence by barring a Herald Tallahassee reporter from a coronavirus briefing a couple weekends ago.

The governor’s performance could be called uneven. He left beaches open for spring break, mistakenly said nobody under 25 had died of COVID-19, exempted churches from his ban on large public gatherings and — as if to show this is, after all, still Florida — he included professional wrestling as an “essential” business allowed to resume operation (albeit without audiences.)

When balancing scientific facts and economic necessities, politics doesn’t help. But Trump has pandered to his MAGA-hatted base, tweeting encouragement to the protesters (many of them armed) gridlocking traffic around capitol buildings in some states with Democratic governors — including states Trump needs to carry next November.

Creating his special commission on restarting business, DeSantis didn’t choose any physicians but found room for major business executives. Only two Democrats were picked for its inner circle, with a special snub to Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the only Democrat holding statewide office.

DeSantis and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who’s already approved reopening such vital businesses as tattoo parlors and bowling alleys, owe their jobs to Trump’s support in 2018. If there’s a choice between science and his re-election politics, it’s not hard to predict their response.

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Bill Cotterell(Photo: Democrat files)

Bill Cotterell is a retired Tallahassee Democrat capitol reporter who writes a twice-weekly column. He can be reached at bcotterell@tallahassee.com.

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